By PAOLA HILARIO – Web Staff
Clarke Central High School is celebrating Teen Tech Week this week of March 5-9. TTW is nationally sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and the Young Adult Library Services Association Division (YALSA), with a purpose to innovate the use and importance that technology has around our school.
CCHS librarian Kacy Tedder wanted to assure that TTW was initiated and that students knew about it. Tedder discovered a program called Tunes 4 Troops which ensures a positive promotion for the celebration of technology. This program collects any gently used CDs, DVDs, video games, MP3 players and iPods, and once you have a certain amount they are packaged and sent overseas to our troops.
Aside from providing technology across the sea, CCHS graphics and design classes have been creating and designing buttons and posters to advocate TTW within our school. Buttons were given out on March 5 and posters were advertised even before the week began.
In light of the use of technology, the media center has also purchased an Xbox Kinect which has been available for use since Wednesday, March 7 in the mornings at 7:15 a.m. and during any lunch time. Games up for play are the Kinect Adventures and Kinect Sports. In addition to having controllers, the hand-motion option makes gaming with fellow peers more exciting and competitive. The media center crew is in hope for future gaming tournaments to get students more involved with technology and positive student interaction.
Along with these new ideas to get students involved, Tedder has been keeping up with a blog she created when she first became an employee at CCHS. The Media Center Blog is a place where students can have conversations about the book that they are reading or have read. Tedder has also been posting about the books she has read and would recommend to students. Besides all the book talk, the MCB is used to keep students informed about the events that go on in the media center, such as PTSO meetings, presentations from guest speakers and simply, who’s been spotted reading a great book in the library.
Be sure to stop by the CCHS media center to experience the great use of technology that our library has and is up-keeping. Or simply visit the MCB if you would like to see what’s going on in your library or find a good book to read.